This year’s edition concluded on October 4th. Prize D4D rewards outstanding initiatives that use digitisationand (new) technologies as a lever for development towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants could register in three different categories: iStartup, iStandout, and iChoose. The jury panel selected the winners of the first two categories, while the last category’s winner was decided by public vote.

The winner for the iStandOut category was the online video platform Access Agriculture. They use training videos in local languages to support farmers and sustainable agriculture technologies. In the category iStartup, the winner was the app WisePocket, a spin-off of the VUB and Universidad de Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. This mobile app wants to make healthcare campaigns more effective through interaction and gamification. The winner of the public vote in the iChoose category was EIGHT, an initiative which allows residents of a town in Uganda to become “an agent of change” themselves through mobile money transfers without conditions.

Apart from an award ceremony, the Africa Museum also took the opportunity to host an innovation fair during the event. During this innovation fair, Close the Gap’s founder and CEO, Olivier Vanden Eynde, gave a short presentation about Tech for Development and the evolving needs in emerging and developing countries. Close the Gap also had an information booth during the fair were visitors could learn more about our different initiatives to bridge the digital divide.

After the Innovation fair, the actual award ceremony took place. The ceremony was presented by Alexander De Croo, Minister of Development Cooperation and Digital Agenda. Afterwards, participants and visitors had the opportunity to share ideas about Digital for Development with each other.

Also interested in joining the Belgian Digital for Development community? Register on kindling.be